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This article summarizes the findings of a case study on the introduction of a Human Rights-based Approach to Programming (HRBAP) in Vietnam. The case study is part of a global UNICEF research project supported by the Department for International Development (DFID) and is the first of its kind in East Asia. Social and economic rights as well as civil, political and cultural rights of Vietnamese children, and to a lesser extent of Vietnamese women, are analysed in the context of the complex history and recent evolution of the country. The case study analyses the spectacular...

This article summarizes the findings of a case study on the introduction of a Human Rights-based Approach to Programming (HRBAP) in Vietnam. The case study is part of a global UNICEF research project supported by the Department for International Development (DFID) and is the first of its kind in East Asia. Social and economic rights as well as civil, political and cultural rights of Vietnamese children, and to a lesser extent of Vietnamese women, are analysed in the context of the complex history and recent evolution of the country. The case study analyses the spectacular achievements of Vietnam in poverty reduction as a result of the introduction of the market economy and examines challenges for HRBAP, such as the situation of children in conflict with the law, of ethnic minority children and of children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The case study demonstrates that a human rights-based approach to programming is possible within the process of modernization and urbanization of Asian societies. It also shows in detail that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) can be successfully implemented in a political system governed by only one party. But human-rights based programming under such cultural and political conditions needs a very good understanding of the historical and political environment in order to identify the right entry points for rights-based projects and activities. The statements in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies or the views of UNICEF.